The eSupport Portal is a powerful tool for accessing information about PTC and its products, as well as for interacting with Technical Support and the Customer Care Center. This chapter provides information on using the eSupport Portal.
To use the Technical Support areas of the PTC Website, referred to as the eSupport Portal, you must register for a PTC online account. With an online account, you can access the numerous tools on the eSupport Portal. Use the tools for licensing, technical support, software updates, and other uses as described throughout this guide. To create a PTC online account, use the New Account Form.
Completing the Personal Information and Security Information of the New Account creation form will provide a user with a Basic level Account. A Basic Account will provide limited access to the eSupport Portal. Basic Users will have access to download free products, view free tutorials/webcasts, and other basic PTC information. In order to take full advantage of the eSupport Portal, active Support customers should also complete the Customer Information on the form. This will provide the user with a Customer Support Account. Active Customer Support users will have access to searching the Knowledge Base, downloading maintenance release software, logging/tracking Technical Support cases and many other Technical Support restricted features. A Customer # and either a Service Contract Number (SCN), Sales Order Number (SON) or Site # are required to complete the Customer Support section. Active Support customers may contact the Support Team if they are unable locate this information: Contact Support.
Once your New Account form has been submitted, Customer Support Accounts will receive an activation email at the email address that was registered. Users will not have full access to the site until they have activated their account.
After your account has been activated you may begin enjoying the benefits of the Support Site.
PTC Technical Support maintains an extensive database of practical tips and techniques from years of customer contact. Through the Technical Support page, you can read numerous documents, updated on demand and usage that contain the latest technical information. You can use the eSupport Portal 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to take advantage of many benefits, such as the following:
The eSupport Portal page contains a Knowledge Base, Web tools for customers, and user documentation. The next two tables list the resources and describe how the information can help you.
PTC Technical Support implements Knowledge Centered Support (KCS) as the way to deliver services. KCS constructs and maintains a knowledge base containing our collective experience to-date. All engineers contribute to the knowledge base by writing articles as a by-product of solving problems.
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Type of Information |
Purpose |
|
Article |
Standard document type that shares knowledge of PTC software solutions collected during problem solving. Its content evolves based on demand and usage. |
|
Historical documents (Suggested Techniques, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), Technical Application Notes (TANs), Technical Point of Interest (TPIs)) |
Old document types that provide technical information on PTC software solutions. They are replaced by articles. |
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Document |
Purpose |
|
Help Centers |
Provides detailed instructions on administration tasks and use cases. |
|
Installation Guide |
Provides detailed instructions on how to install any specific PTC software package. |
|
Release Notes or What’s New |
Provides information on a particular release of a particular product. |
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Read This First |
Provides a summary of the important information about installation, platform requirements, operational issues, and other topics that you should read before installing and running the release. |
|
Quick Reference Cards |
Provides graphical quick-reference diagrams that summarize the user interface of the product. |